God’s Preserving; Our Persevering

As you may know, last week I had to travel to Dallas. If you are not familiar with the Tulsa area, this translates into at least a five hour drive. The only thing I enjoy about having to drive to Dallas is opportunity to listen to some great preaching. So before the trip, I loaded up my iPod with several messages that could pass the time away. The trip down was good, but the trip back was incredible. I wonder if you have ever traveled this road before (not the one to Dallas, the one I’m about to share with you). I write this with a huge amount of fear and trembling. I have never before exposed such emotional thoughts like I am about to share. I hope that you think less of me after reading this and at the same time think more of HIM.

On Thursday, I was hit by a ton of bricks (not literally). I wasn’t listening to any message at the time and I was simply driving to the bowling alley where our Manager’s Meeting was to resume. On the way, I was reminded (I’m not sure by who) how sinful I can be. I don’t know about you, but I often look at Scripture and then look at my life to see what needs to change. On this particular day, I was flooded with thoughts that literally brought me to tears. I tell you this not to make you feel sorry for me or to coerce you in to thinking I am super spiritual, I am just sharing from my heart how God works in my life. James 1:22-25 – “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

If we are to truly be blessed in what we are doing, we must firmly look into the perfect law of liberty; God’s Word. This is a very dangerous thing to do. Why? It will reveal to us what we are really like. Just like looking in a mirror, looking into God’s law reveals our flaws (our sin; to be blunt). I am currently going through a very difficult situation in my life. This has caused me to dig deep into the Scriptures and to dig deep into my own heart. In doing this, I was overwhelmed with my sin. I looked back over my life and saw several examples of sin that were never dealt with until now. Sins that I committed that I did not realize the magnitude nor did I realize the consequences (until now). My response to this was a cry out to God asking why He even made me. Every area of my life has been compromised by my sin. I questioned Him on whether or not I had any value. Before you get scared, I was not thinking of taking my own life; my life is not mine to take. Let’s be clear on that.

Please understand this very important truth; God sees ALL sin the same (James 2:10). Before you pass judgment on me, let’s look at the “law” that James is referring to. It is the Ten Commandments. If we truly examine ourselves in light of these laws, we will see that we have not kept even one. If you don’t believe me, go to http://www.wayofthemaster.com/freeduplication.shtml and listen to the message “Hell’s Best Kept Secret” to find out more. With that in mind, sin does not have to be the “sins unto death” in order to be held accountable under the law. Sins such as hate, lying, failure to lead (husbands), failure to submit (wives), placing a higher importance on things than on God and simply looking at another person with lust in your heart are all sin and there will be consequences.

So what was so incredible about the trip back? I’m glad you asked. With a lifetime of revealed sin weighing heavy on my conscience, I heard a message on 2 Cor 4:7-10. Paul writes, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” Then the speaker said this, “God uses jars of clay” and he went on to describe the meaning of “Jars of Clay”. It is the same term used for vessels in 2 Tim 2:20-21 “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” Again, I was hit with a ton of bricks. The sin that was weighing on my conscience had been cleansed. Not by anything I have done, but by the precious blood of Jesus. To this thought, I was overwhelmed. In one day, I went from feeling like scum to praising His name.

In order to drive this thought home, I need to back up a couple of verses. Take a good look at verse 19 of 2 Tim 2. What is God’s firm foundation and what seal does it bear? Two things: God knows those who are His and those who are His depart from iniquity. This is God’s preserving and our persevering. Though we are afflicted, perplexed, persecuted and struck down; we are preserved in His foundation which is His Son (1 Cor 3:11) and we will persevere because we are NOT crushed, driven to despair, forsaken or destroyed. Maybe you are driving or have driven down the same road I went down on Thursday. If so, I plead with you to cry out to the One and only One who can take a vessel of dishonor and turn it into a vessel of honor, set apart as holy.